Method of making flocked fabrics



Jan. '27; 1970 c. 'R. sHEHANjET A-L Filed Feb. 1, 1966 METHOD OF MAKING FLOCKED FABRICS 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS. R. 6b eeh an Char/96 BY POM/ ME 00 we// HTTQR/VE Y Jan. 27, 1970 c. R. SHE EHAN ET AL METHOD OF MAKING FLOCKED FABRICS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1966 INVENTORS.

Char/e5 R. 6/2 eehan BY POu/ M O0We// ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,492,144 METHOD OF MAKING FLOCKED FABRICS Charles R. Sheehan, Williamsburg, and Paul McDowell, Newport News, Va., assignor to The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 524,142 Int. Cl. B44c 1/08 U.S. Cl. 117-33 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention discloses and claims an improved method for making a flocked fabric which method comprises curling relatively long sections of synthetic polymer filaments and thereafter applying the curled sections of filament to an adhesive coated fabric backing material.

This invention relates to flocked fabrics and a novel method of making same. More particularly, the invention relates to flocked fabrics that are made from long, curled sections of synthetic monofilament, which exhibit improved wear, pile resiliency, and general appearance.

Flocking is of great importance as a modern method of surface styling for textiles and plastics. In this surface treatment, natural or synthetic dust, short fibers of different staple length and denier, or flocks of definite length and diameter are cemented by a bonding agent to the entire surface or part of it, of textiles, non-Wovens, or plastic or metal foils, and also to leather, rubber, wood, paper, glass and sheet metal/Hence flocked material always consists of basic material, bonding (agent and pile.

One of the basic difliculties in the flocking art is the ability to obtain a dense, resilient flocked carpet using relatively long, cut fibers. Generally, when longer fibers are used, both flock density and orientation'are poor. This is particularly true with acrylic, polyolefin and vinylidene chloride-vinyLchloridepolymer fibers. Due to their resistance to the elements, these fibers are ideal for outdoor carpet and decorative coverings. However, it has been necessary to'resort to tufted=type coverings and carpet to obtain a product that is-acceptable.

Tufting with these materials still does not solve the problem of resiliency and appearance. The fibers tend to lay flat and fail to present a fresh appearance after even limited use.

In order to overcome these and related disadvantages, it has been discovered that flocked fabrics, having improved wear, pile resiliency and appearance, can be produced by a method which com-prises curling relatively long sections .4' 1 f url isil ustra ed inEIGUREiwherein the individual sections possessing varying degrees of curl;

FIGURE 6 is a schematic view of a mechanical process employed for manufacturing the flocked fabrics of the invention; and

FIGURE 7 is a schematic view of an electrostatic process employed for manufacturing the flocked fabrics of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and as may be best seen in FIGURE 1, flocked fabrics having relatively long, straight filament sections 12 tend to be flat on the fabric surface 10. In addition, there is poor covering and density, yielding a fabric that is both unsightly and unacceptable in the market place. However, in FIGURE 2, there is illustrated the remarkable advantages of using a filament section 13 in flocking a fabric. Depending on degree of curl and length of filament section, a great degree of resiliency and fiber density can be tailored into the finished flocked fabric.

The perspective view of FIGURE 3 and FIGURE 4 more clearly illustrate the unexpected result of pile density and resiliency built into the flocked fabric using curled filaments. FIGURE 3 illustrates the poor covering of straight, non-curled filaments and shows their'tendency to lie down on the fabric backing rather than standing perpendicular. This effect is well known in the art and is the main, reason long filaments are generally omitted from most flocking methods.

. In contrast to the inadequate fabric of FIGURE 3, is the flocked fabric illustrated in FIGURE 4, wherein curled filaments comprise the pile surface, of the fabric. It can be seen readily that the curled fabrics tend to interlock, causing a much greater resiliency and density than is normally found in flocked fabrics using long filaments.

The filament sections useful for the present invention have a length of from about A to 1 /2 inch and are preferably in the range of 15 to 1250 denier, depending on choice of polymer filament. The degree, or amount,

filament sections are shown possessing varying curl. The degree of curling was established using a /2 inch cut flock and measuring the radii of curvatures, which preferably run from' to A inch. This can be better. understood by referring to FIGURE 5e, wh e rein the dotted,

line, defining the chord, is .a measure of the radius of curvature. It can be seen readily that FIGURE 5a would of course, be inch curvature, with FIGURE 5] beof thermoplastic monofilaments and then applying the curled sections of monofilament to an adhesive coated suitable fabric backing material.

Flocked fabrics produced in this mannerpossess a pile density, resilience, durability and attractive appearance that are novel to the. flocked fabric art.

The present invention will be more readily apparent and ,easily understood by reference to the ensuing disclosureand specification taken together with figures of ing inch curvature. FIGURE 5b has inch curvature, 50 having V inch curvature, and so forth. There is a variance in'desirable degree of curl, depending on the particular properties desired in any given'flocked. fabric.

For this reason, FIGURE 5 is merely for purposes of 'il-i lustration and is not to be construed as limiting the inven-,' tion herein. Y i

Referring now to FIGURE 6, there is illustrated schematically one method of manufacturing the flocked fabrics of the present invention. The-method consists essentially of passing a suitable fabric material 16 onto a conveyor 24, where a suitable adhesive 19 is uniformly coatedonto fabric 16 and smoothed by a doctor blade 28. The adhesive-coated fabric 20 is then conveyed beneath a flock distributing device 26 which drops the cut filament sections 25 ontothe coated fabric 20. To drive the filament sections 25 into the adhesive 19 and to increase the pile density, rotation beater bars 23, located beneath the conveyor 24, vibrate the coated fabric 20, tending to drive the coated fabric 20 upward as the flock 2 5 fall s downward. There is preferably a pneumatic force applied subsequently to the flocked fabric 30 by a pneumatic device 27 so as toremove excess. loose. flock from the finished 3 fabric. The finished fabric 30 is then conveyed on to subsequent drying and like treatments.

FIGURE 7 illustrates an alternative method employing electrostatic flocking, as opposed to mechanical flocking of FIGURE 6. As can be seen, the essential steps This was flocked onto a 225 square inch sample of Woven SFM, and coated with 16 ounce per square yard of acrylic adhesive, as in Example 1, above. Flock in the amount of 2.14 grams was retained on the backing. The density of flock on the sample was 12.3 ounce per square yard,

EXAMPLE 1 EXAMPLE 2 Five grams of the same 400 denier SFM /2 inch cut was pre-curled by hot water at 210 F. for 60 minutes. 75

are the same as in FIGURE 6, except there is now a posi- Showing ppr y a 100 Percent increase in flock tive electrode grid 31 through which the curled flock 25 dens/lily resultlng from the use of pre-curled flock. is dropped, onto the moving adhesive-coated fabric 20', EXAMPLES from the flock hopper 26. There is located beneath the I coated fabric 20' a grounded electrode 29. As the curled i heat treatments were med F 400 F flock passes through grid 31, the flock becomes SFM, /2 inch cut, and subsequently applied to adhesivecharged and is fired into the adhesive coating 19, coated fabnc p1eces. In each batch of cut flock there was with flock 25 that does not stick reversing their charge a distrlbutlon of degree of curling- F P Pelow is Tiflble and being fired back to grid 31, Where the flock again I showlng the heat treatment and dlstrlbutlon of curling. reversing polarity and being fired back to the adhesive The data makes abundantly clear the relat1vely wlde var coated fabric This action occurs rapidly until the ance 1n acceptable heat treatments applicable for the presfiocked fabric Passes beyond the grids 29 and ent 1nvent1on. (Examples 3-7 were conducted with hot Preferably, excess flock is pneumatically removed by a suction device 27' following the flocking operation. ABL I.DI TRIBUTION OF- OURLIN G 0F SFM There are many suitable adhesives available commer- 20 Degree ofcuflpemm c1ally, wlth the acrylic-type adhesives belng preferred due H t t t t 2 H H H H n to their weather resistance and relatively long pot life. ea ma men s [16 3/16 4/16 6/16 8/16 The present invention can be practiced with most syn- (3) m 2 18 60 10 thetii: filaments 1agailableil. Preferably, the filamentary ma- 25 g; 12;? E1: gfiiiiiigg ii: i; III: teria is a vinyi ene c loride-vinyl chloride copolymer e5 36 7 275 F., 10 t (Saran Flat Mlcrotape) of about 400 denier. Filaments is; Boiling wais l f l tl rilinutes 5 2( 2 of polypropylene, polyethylene, nylon, polyesters, acry- 5 25 15 lates, and vinyl of from 15 to 600 denler are also well adapted for use in the invention. 3O EXAMPLES 10 22 There are many ways to curl thermoplastic filament sec- F1 k d b tions, such as by treating with hot air, steam and hot wa- 1 i g fg 3 g l 5 ter with or Without mechanical agitation. It has been z i g g gg z; gg i gg gg i gz O O 9 i g i i g i hot at f to metal (coated with thermoplastic such as Lurex manue or a u Pro uces a Sm a e 6.21m 35 factured by The Dow Chemical Company), polyester, treauflent at atmqsphem PresSure for about 15 to and acrylic. The flocked fabrics were inspected to deteronds 1s equally sultable. Equally good results are obtamed mine the number f pile fib Per square inch Samples y treatlng the fil'tfments Water at {about 200 to 210 were made with both curled and non-curled to demonfor about 5 mlllutes 1f P P y at about strate the greater fiber density of the curled flock over 210 F- f r m V ns 1n temperature and the non-curled flock. Table II, below, contains the results time can be made to obtain the desired degree of curl for of the experiment.

TABLE II Pile Flock Test Data Flock Curled Not Curled Degree Class Material Used As Flock of Curl Length No. of No. of Sample of Radius of Cut Fibers Fibers, 0. Fiber Type Dimensions Denier (in.) (in.) Oz./yd. sq. in. Oz./yd. sq. in.

10 Saran Microtap6 3rnils x 25 mils 400 0 8/16 4.2 20 d d 400 2/16 8/16 4. 2 20 400 3/16 8/16 4. 2 20 400 4/16 8/16 4. 2 20 400 6/16 8/16 4. 2 20 400 8/16 8/16 4. 2 20 225 4/16 8/16 98 o 575 4/16 8/16 128 18 do Round Diameter 2.0 mils. 14.3 4/16 8/16 149 19 Polyamide Trilobal 2.1 mils 15 4/16 8/16 104 20 Metallic Slit Film lmilx 10 mils. 4/16 8/16 5 21 Polyester do 1 milx 10 mils. 76 4/16 8/16 68 22 Acrylic Round Diameter 3.1 mils. 32.5 4/16 8/16 710 a given polymer filament section without departing from The above results clearly show that the curling, of the the spirit or scope of the present invention. 60 present invention, results in an increase in pile density of from 47 to several thousand percent. In addition, the interlocking action of the curled fibers in the finished fabric cause a greater resiliency in the fabric than heretofore known.

We claim:

1. A method of producing wear and weather resistant flocked fabrics which comprises curling relatively long 'sections of synthetic polymer filaments into arcuate segments and thereafter applying the arcuate segments of filament to an adhesive coated suitable fabric backing material.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the synthetic polymer is a thermoplastic.

(References on following page) References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Rutishauser 1966 X Robbins 264168 Sisson 161177 Spence et a1 264168 X Koller 16164 X Fujita et a1. 264168 X Fenton 11733 Achterhof 117-28 Newton 16166 Lemelson 156--72 Perri 16164 WILLIAM D. MARTIN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

